Teen Titans: Beginnings
by FenderKing
Summary: It's been one month since fate brought the Titans together. The newly formed group is forced into action when a mysterious madman launches a devastating attack on the city. For our heroes, it's try or die. Will their collective strength be enough to stop the death count? Or will all of Jump City fall to it's knees at the feet of this war-forged psychopath?
1. Shadows

(I do not claim any rights to the characters mentioned in this story. I am however, the original writer of this fan-fiction).

Chapter one: Shadows

Four red eyes cut through the shadows like knives. In them there was no love or mercy, there was no life or joy. There was only unfathomable hatred. In this darkness lurked a great evil, older than time itself. His unquenchable thirst for death and chaos was the only desire his black heart had ever known. Shadows swam and seethed at his feet, expanding and contracting like a living heart. The darkness took on the faces of the countless souls he had consumed. They clawed the air, desperately trying to escape the ever spinning void that contained them; their anguish only made him stronger. But he had remained passive for too long, he grew restless and hungry. The shadows took the form of a perfect sphere and rose from the abyss into their master's clutches. The orb's black skin cracked and peeled, floating away like ashes of burning paper, revealing its true vibrant green and blue surface. It was planet Earth.

"You cannot run from destiny, daughter... Anywhere you hide, I will find you. Cherish the fleeting time you still have"

The demon muttered, in a thundering voice. He grasped the sphere with one black talon, his fingers spread black veins of corruption where they touched. With a sadistic laugh, the demon opened his jaws to swallow the planet whole...

All hope had abandoned Raven the second she woke. "He's found me" she whispered in a small, terrified voice. A cold sweat broke out across her brow, and her breathing came shaky and sporadic.

Fear griped her heart like a steel trap. _"It's over"_ She thought _"It's all over"_

She had to get a reign on her emotions before theyconsumed her. (Before _he _could consume her)

Raven sat herself upright in bed, and forced herself to take deep breaths. "Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." she chanted her mantra quietly, emptying her mind of all that troubled her.

Raven finally regained control of her emotions, although she was still quite shaken up. She winced from her hammering headache, no doubt a backlash of her father's visitation. Raven stumbled from her bedroom into the living-room. Beast Boy was passed out on the sofa as usual. This time however, he had manged to transform himself into a house-cat in his sleep. He was curled up snugly into a ball of green fuzz. Not particularly wanting to wake her talkative team mate, Raven levitated a mere inch off the floor, and glided over to the balcony door. But as she turned the door knob, Garfield's cat ears pricked up. Raven glanced back at the couch to see two shiny yellow eyes peering back at her.

"Rae, is that you?" Beast Boy mumbled groggily, as he stretched out his front paws, his claws digging into the leather. He hopped up onto the arm of the couch where he sat down, wrapping his tail neatly around his feet. "Where you going?" asked the sleepy talking cat.

"It's none of your concern." Raven shot back coldly. The Titans had only officially been together for a month now, and she wasn't sure what to make of Beast Boy yet. He exhibited large amounts of mirth and small amounts of wit, but he seemed utterly lacking in maturity. He perplexed her, to say the least.

"Geez, I may be the only one who can turn into a Cobra around here, but I'm defiantly not the only one with venom." He observed, as he morphed back into human form.

"Look, just leave me alone." she mumbled, as she exited out the patio door.

The night sky was blank and starless; the city lights made it too bright to see anything more than the occasional satellite. The air was so cold she could see her breath, but it was just the kind of cool relief that Raven needed. At last she felt like she could breathe. Raven found her gaze drawn to the distant radio towers; they jutted upward into the sky even higher than Titan Tower. Their blinking lights looked like specks of blood at the points of daggers.

Raven found herself envisioning the flashing lights as eyes, rather than beacons. The towers seemed to group together, merging into one dark form and looming menacingly above the city. Raven heard that familiar twisted laugh, as she had heard it a thousand times before in her nightmares. The temperature suddenly seemed to drop ten degrees; a harsh gust of wind came rushing over the lake, sending chills up Raven's spine. The cool air no longer felt pleasant. A void, empty presence seemed to wash over her: Hopelessness and dread._ "I'm fifteen now, I've got just less than a year ...I can't stop him, I can't stop destiny"_

Raven sank to her knees, "No..." she whispered bleakly.

"_No._ what?" came an aloof reply, snapping her back to reality.

Beast Boy had snuck up without her knowing it, and now stood arm's crossed with a perplexed look on his face. "What's wrong Raven? Why are you out here? - And why are you on the ground?"

Raven found herself more annoyed than moved by Beast Boy's concern.

"I thought I told you it was none of your business." she snapped.

Beast Boy raised his palms above his head innocently. "Easy mama, I'm just trying to help."

Raven picked herself off the ground, trying to maintain dignity. "Well, I didn't ask for your help." she growled, shoving her way back inside; Beast Boy followed.

"But that's what teammates are for. They're there to share stuff with." Garfield explained, a cheesy smile plastered to his face. Raven's only response was an annoyed grunt.

Beast Boy took this as invitation to continue. "So what's got ya down Raven, Global warming, the low economy, Cyborg's cooking?" He said the last part with a toothy grin.

"No. You wouldn't understand." She replied bitterly, letting her words hang...

"You're right, I wouldn't..." for once, his carefree tone had vanished.

"I haven't gone through what you have been through- But I've had my share of hard times too, we all have. Joining the Titans has given me a chance to have a fresh start. Look, I know it's difficult trying to find your place in this team, but try to open up. The hurt won't ever start to heal if you hold it all inside... We all have our _demons_ Rae."

"Shut up..." she muttered, anger building.

" I will- I will. you have the right to your own privacy. But if you ever need to talk, I'm a pretty good listener." He said with a small smile. He turned and left down the hall, disappearing into his room.

_Who is being the mature one right now? _Asked a mocking inner voice. _He tried to reach out, and I pushed him away._

Raven knew that going back to sleep would mean more nightmares, and that wasn't an option. She also found she was unable to go back outside because of her newly found and irrational fear of radio towers.

So, she did what she always did when she needed to recollect her thoughts, she began to read.

If Raven had learned one thing in her short time on earth it was that humans had no shortage of excellent reading material. She shortly became engrossed in a book she had borrowed from Robin.

It was written by some guy named, Stephen King. Raven could tell by the author's work that they both had a lot in common.


	2. The Blooding

Chapter two: The Blooding

"Gimme back the remote, ya cybernetic trashcan!"

"Oh no. You had it all yesterday, it's my turn!"

Beast Boy sprang from the sofa, making a desperate dive for the clicker. Cyborg dodged the ambush, causing the green boy to miss his target, resulting in a crash landing into the coffee table.

Cyborg burst into mocking laughter, until Beast Boy morphed into a boa constrictor and coiled around his legs. Cyborg stopped laughing, when he found himself falling face-first to the floor. The two rolled and writhed on the floor, fighting tooth and nail for the all-important remote control.

Robin had often wondered why all of his mornings seemed start with this same routine between those two. There was always a fight over some trivial thing. Who got to have the remote? Who got to eat the last pancake? Who got to be player 1?

Robin was growing tired of the duo's antics, and he could tell from the look on both Raven and Starfire's faces that he wasn't the only one.

Beast Boy had finaly managed to pry the remote from Cyborgs steely hands, and he was slithering away with the device clutched between his fangs, until- BZZZRRRT!

The green snake began to flop violently around on the floor, as currents of electricity jolted through his body. Cyborg had transformed his index finger into a miniature Taser.

"Ha! How you like me now you little green roach? Now Say Uncle!" Cyborg hollered victoriously as he continued to shock the Changeling.

All Beast Boy could manage in response was an unintelligible gurgling sound.

"_Idiots…." _

"Would you two cut it out?" Robin demanded, intervening before Cyborg roasted Beast Boy to a charcoal briquette. Cyborg gave a sheepish smile as he plucked the remote from Beast Boy's mouth and handed it over to Robin (Still somewhat covered in drool). Beast Boy had turned back into a human again and was stumbling around the living room in aftershock stupor.

"Tasers are no fair dude." He muttered woozily.

Starfire had to catch him before he collapsed on the floor.

"I think it would be wise of you to lie down now." She suggested, as she led him to the couch.

Robin flipped the TV over to the news.

A live feed showed a mile-long parade marching through the streets of downtown Jump City. Rows upon rows of instrumentalists in matching red and gold suits came marching past the camera. Their feet moved as one, stepping in time to the music. Drummers pounded away, trumpets blared, flutes sang. Behind the band came the flag carriers, twirling their crimson banners with memorizing speed and precision. The camera panned in on a large float, made to look like a giant cornucopia. The mayor stood beside his wife at the mouth of the cornucopia, waving to the populace of Jump City as they rolled down Main St.

"Oh that's right" Said Cyborg as he plunked down onto the couch beside Beast Boy. "The Fall Festival parade is today."

"I don't see why everyone makes such a big deal about fall." chimed Beast Boy "summer ends and the weather gets cold; I don't see what's so great about that."

Although Beast Boy seemed indifferent to the event, Starfire was beside herself with excitement. She leaped from her seat on the couch and spun giddily into the air.

"Oh this celebration holds many similarities to Jo'rsil: a holiday practiced on my home world." said the Tamaranean with a sigh of nostalgia. "Robin, might we make a trip to the square-of-the-town and partake in the merriment?"

A thin smile crossed Robin's lips. "I'm sorry Star, but we have to stay here. This festival attracts a lot of visitors, and every year it causes a big increase in criminal activity. We have to be ready for anything."

"Oh…. I see" Starfire said with more than a faint trace of disappointment, as she descended back onto the couch. "I suppose I shall have to be content watching the parade from the Television." she decided.

"There's always next year, Star" Cyborg assured, as he awkwardly patted the Tamaranean's shoulder.

"-And it's sure to be just as tacky as it is this year." Raven added dryly from her seat at the table, not once looking up from the book in her hands.

Several deafening explosions went off onscreen, sending shrapnel and several bodies flying into the mass of people crowding around to watch the parade. In a matter of milliseconds, the order of the grand procession had turned into total chaos. Some people ran screaming from the scene, others just stood aghast in pure shock, some who had been closer to the explosions came stumbling away disoriented and bleeding, at least five others lay motionless on the ground. The picture soon became blotted out with ink black smoke; the reporters who had been commentating were rendered speechless.

"Titans, Go!" Robin shouted, but the whole team was already on their feet and rushing to the door...

The wail of sirens pierced the air. The square was in an uproar, emergency response teams poured onto the scene from all directions. Paramedics worked as fast as they could to get the most critically injured patients to the nearest hospital. Some were missing arms and legs, others had shards of shrapnel lodged into their bodies. Black pillars of smoke continued to pour from the locations the bombs had detonated.

The Titans watched everything unfold from a distance, helpless to do anything but spectate. The damage had been done. The only ones who could help now were the medics, and God himself. Even Raven's ability to heal proved little use on such severe injuries, but she was still down on-scene doing all she could to help.

"It reminds me of the day that Tamaran fell." Said Starfire grimly.

"Who would do something like this?" Robin demanded the answer from no one in particular.

"We'll find out." Assured Cyborg "And when we do, we'll bring them to justice."

Robin's fists tightened like knots, he clenched his jaw in a look of iron resolve "Prison is too good for someone who would do something like this..."

Raven reappeared, emerging like a ghost from a veil of shadows. Her hands were soaked in blood up to her wrists. Her gaze was fixed to the ground, some of the light in her lilac eyes had gone out. "I tried" she muttered brokenly, "he was too far gone ….. there was nothing I could do except watch him fade"

Starfire laid a comforting hand on her friend's arm "Raven, you gave your best effort, and-"

"-and it wasn't enough." Raven finished, tugging away from Starfire's touch. The young Tamaranean looked hurt.

Robin's prototype communicator began to ring, he reached for it slowly. "Cyborg, I thought we programed our comms to operate on an encrypted frequency?"

"We did"

"Trace it" Robin ordered, as he opened the device.

The voice that spoke was heavily distorted through use of electronics, but what was said was understood by all. "Unless you want a repeat of what happened today, I suggest you do precisely as I instruct you to" …...


	3. The Lucky Break

Chapter Three: The Lucky Break

Jinx sat up on her knees watching from her window as the shores of her homeland slowly disappeared in the distance. The light of the setting sun danced upon the waves below, sparkling like diamonds over the deep blue surface. Jinx turned away from the window, and bounced back into her seat. She could hardly sit still; her spirits soared as high as the commercial jet that was carrying her to freedom. She couldn't even categorize what she was feeling at the moment, excitement, nervousness, joy, and maybe a little nausea? She dug into her satchel, searching for the gold bordered letter she had received a month ago. She held the parchment between her shaking fingers, and unfolded it carefully. Jinx awoke one morning and found the strange letter sealed away in a crimson envelope on her windowsill. It was written in flawless calligraphy with such precision and elegance, that Jinx might have mistaken it as a letter addressed to a king, not a lowly girl from the Vaishya caste. She found herself reading the letter over for possibly the hundredth time that day.

"_You have been chosen to receive a full-tuition scholarship to the H.A.E.Y.P (HIVE Academy for extraordinary young people)-should you choose to accept it. We have been observing you for the past year and found that you possess all the qualities of a potential HIVE student. Our agents have seen your powers in action; they are quite impressive for someone of your age. Your unique abilities are nothing to hide or be ashamed of. At HIVE academy, you are pushed to reach your ultimate potential. Understand, this is an incredibly exclusive offer. We cater only to those who have been gifted with rare and powerful natural abilities (such as yourself). Extensive ability training is offered to all students, we want you to learn how to control your powers and use them to the fullest. You are special, and an invaluable asset to society._

_If you would like a tour of our campus, we can make arrangements within the week for you to fly out to our headquarters in Jump City, CA. (We will cover all expenses) If you wish to contact us, all you need to do is press the button of the communicator provided in the envelope._

_We hope to be seeing you soon- Headmaster Blood"_

Gifted, Special? These were not words that Jinx had ever associated with herself. Back in her town she was known only as "manahūsa" (Curse). Although the name was intended as a slight, she defiantly embraced it and began referring to herself as "Jinx". The people of her town had come to despise her because of all the trouble she had a knack for causing. Any time she would interact with the rest of the world something always seemed to go wrong, and for the longest time she didn't know why.

For example, things that she touched had a tendency to spontaneously break or stop working. If she played cricket, she would inevitably bat the ball straight through a window. If she tried to help her mother carry groceries from the market, the bag would rip and all the contents would fall in the mud. Not even everyday tasks were safe affairs when Jinx was performing them. One time, she was pouring herself a bowl of cereal, and a swarm of cockroaches came spilling out of the box. They crawled away beneath the floor boards, and her family has been having problems with them ever since.

Jinx was an outcast from the time of her birth. No one wanted to be around her because of all the horrible misfortune her presence seemed to bring. The children at her school stayed away from her physically, but not a day passed that they didn't hurl insults (and sometimes rocks) at her from afar. It was commonly thought amongst the townsfolk, that she was an evil spirit disguised as a girl. Even her own parents wanted little to do with her, they took care of her out of obligation, not love. Sometimes her father would get furious with her. He would blame her for bringing so much bad luck into his home, cursing the day she was born. More than once she had tasted the sting of his hand, swung in drunken rage.

"_I might have stayed if I only had one friend. If just one person truly loved me, I could have endured the rest."_

A blast of turbulence caused the entire plane to shake, snapping Jinx from her thoughts. She hugged her letter tightly to her chest as though it was a magic talisman that would protect her. Jinx saw in her mind's eye the right wing snapping away from the rest of the aircraft, sending her spiraling to a watery grave. She shut her eyes, and prepared for the plane to drop, but it never did. Jinx slowly reopened her eyes to find that nothing had actually happened. She glanced out her window to make sure that the right wing was still where it ought to be.

"Just turbulence" Jinx told herself sheepishly.

_"__I can control it now; I can control it now ... Nothing will go wrong unless I want it to." _Jinx had spent her last few days in India honing her powers as best as she knew how. She had become so adept at controlling her abilities that she could make a tree shed half of its leaves on just one side. Yet every once in a while she would lose control, and the results were always cataclysmic.

It had been no small task convincing herself that she could fly all the way to California without any "accidents".

"_Traveling at 300 miles an hour, 5 miles in the sky, in a metal craft held aloft entirely by machinery? Yeah…. this is probably the stupidest thing you can possibly be doing."_ She thought to herself

She saw no other options short of swimming to America, so it was a chance she had to take. Besides, it's not like staying was even an option she had, not after what she did…..

Jinx was broadsided with a fresh wave of guilt; it pooled in her chest then sank like a stone into her stomach. She sank her head onto her hands. "_I can't second guess myself now. What's done is done; I've made my bed….."_

_"__Or dug my grave" _whispered another voice.

Jinx was brought from her thoughts by the presence of someone to the left of her.

"Can I get you something to drink, girl?" asked a flight attendant pleasantly, in perfect Hindi.

"Thank you for asking, but I have no money" she replied, raising both hands apologetically.

"That's quite alright dear, you are our special passenger; no payment is needed" She explained as she offered Jinx a cold, red aluminum can. Jinx took it hesitantly

"Go on, try it. American kids your age love this stuff" the woman prompted.

Jinx turned the can over in her hand. The word "Coca-Cola" flowed down one side of the can in bold cursive letters. "Ah, so this is the fabled American drink?" Jinx asked with a faint smile.

"That it is. Call me if you need anything, dear." She spoke behind her shoulder as she pushed her cart down the aisle. Jinx watched her duck behind a curtain into the lower class seating area.

Jinx sat there for a moment holding her little red can, before setting it down in a conveniently placed cup-holder. _"__I'll save it for later." _Jinx felt tightly wound already, and the caffeinated beverage wouldn't do anything to help matters. Instead, she leaned back into her chair and closed her eyes. _"__I've still got a long flight ahead of me." _She thought. The rhythmic drone of the jets was already lulling her into sleep….


	4. The Game Begins

Chapter four: The Game Begins

*So you have no clue what it is you're up against?*

"We know he's a threat and that he needs to be stopped. Isn't that enough?"

*Your team isn't ready for something like this- you're too inexperienced.*

"That may be so, but we can't stand by and do nothing while people's lives are at stake... Besides, he's given us an ultimatum: either we abandon Titan tower and leave Jump city, or he'll detonate another bomb…. Inaction is not an option." The other end of the line was silent for a moment.

*How much time do you have?*

"Forty-eight hours" More silence

*I've been in the game longer than you've been alive. This is an extremely gutsy move, and a person who is willing to make it has either stacked the cards, or lost their mind….*

"What if he's bluffing?"

*What if he's not and you get your whole team killed? You're no good to anyone dead, Robin.*

"I'm no good to anyone if I don't do something! 'Justice always comes at a price'- _you _taught me that! Well, whatever the price, I'm willing to pay it."

*If you have something you're trying to prove, this isn't the way to do it…. You have no idea what you are getting into, and I won't have you risking the lives of your comrades to gratify your need for independence.*

"You think I'm doing this for me? I'm doing this to save lives, and to see that justice is done for the lives already taken. I know my teammates are with me one-hundred percent. We can handle this."

*…You've got one shot. One. If anything goes wrong, I'll see to it that your little squad is disbanded, and that you are put on indefinite suspension. Do I make myself clear?*

"-Crystal", Robin muttered in return. Without another word, both lines closed simultaneously. Robin hurled the communicator across the room in a small burst of rage. It clattered to the stone floor and landed somewhere in the darkest recesses of the armory. "_I'll find it in the morning"_, he thought wearily. Robin slunk unceremoniously onto his bed. He slumped his head into his hands, contemplatively rubbing his aching temple.

Robin sensed a faint presence lingering in the shadows outside of his room. A prick of alarm worked its way up his spine, but only for a moment. Robin soon deduced that it could be none other than Raven. (No one else was quiet enough to sneak up on him). Robin began to wonder just how much she had heard.

"Raven, I know you're there."

Like a specter, she materialized out of the darkness and stepped into the room, her midnight-blue robe rippling as she moved. She stopped two meters away from the bed. Her cowl was up, hiding her facial features from sight so that Robin couldn't read her expression (not that there was often one to read).

"Snooping is rude you know?" He pointed out.

"I'm sorry, it's just... I sensed a lot of tension, I figured I should check it out."

The way she said the word "sensed" seemed odd to Robin, it almost sounded like "felt" would have be a more accurate word. It was like Raven possessed some sort of ESP, like the force or something. Robin supposed that was entirely possible given the mysterious nature of her powers. It dawned on Robin that he didn't know very much about the girl, aside from their common interest in books and silence.

"You sensed tension?" Robin asked, poking for an explanation.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure half of Jump city could hear you yelling." she replied coolly.

Robin felt a little heat rise in his cheeks.

"Yeah, sorry..." An awkward silence fell between the two of them

"So what's our next move?" She asked, as she lowered her cowl, revealing dark silky locks and piercing violet eyes.

"We'll need to split up. Three of us will go on a scavenger hunt for the hidden bomb, the other two will track down our madman. We couldn't trace him by that call he made, he was using some kind of GPS jammer so we couldn't keep a steady lock on his location. But, Cyborg did manage to find several recurring coordinates within close vicinity of each other. The area we mapped out based on those coordinates is roughly four square miles. If I was I betting man, I would guess that he has set up base somewhere around there. "

"And where is _there_?" Raven asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"China Town" Robin replied with a tired sigh.

"-But even if that's where the call was made, our chances of finding anything are slim to none…. It probably sounds like craziness to risk everything on a glorified guess, but handing this city over to some sinister lunatic is simply not an option."

"Agreed" said Raven with a nod. "I'll go wake the others and tell them you've made your decision."

With that she turned and left the room.

Robin supposed he should find his communicator. He was tired and his team was tired, but there would be no sleep for them tonight. Robin fumbled across the cold marble floor of the armory, searching for the device. A sudden buzz and a faint glow directed his attention toward the location his communicator had landed. A green LED indicator light was flashing, informing him that the device had received a message. Robin reached for the device as if it might bite him. Dread sank into the pit of his stomach like lead as he opened the message.

_So, it begins, _the device read_._ The number used to contact Robin was masked, but he knew where the message came from. _He has a bug in here somewhere._ Robin thought, not daring to utter another word. _He's playing me. This is just a game to him. _Something felt very wrong to Robin. _What else does he have planted in our tower?_

Robin got has answer as a deafening boom sounded throughout the tower. Reinforced glass shattered like a thin film of ice and dark smoke poured through his open door. Robin covered his mouth and nose in the crook of his arm as he bolted out into the hallway. Robin arrived just in time to nearly get plowed over by Cyborg as he rushed past with Starfire in his arms. Robin followed, hard on the metal-man's heels. With one arm still clutching the Tamaranean, Cyborg cleared a place to set her down on the couch. Burns covered her arms and legs, and blood seeped from wounds on her forehead and stomach.

"Beast Boy, get me some bandages!" He shouted in an authoritative voice.

"On it." Called the Changling, as he morphed into a cheetah and raced off towards the infirmary.

"Hang in there, Star." Cyborg soothed as he pressed a sofa cushion firmly against the wound on her tummy in an attempt at stopping the bleeding.

"W-what happened?" She moaned, as she glanced around the room frantically.

Robin felt helpless, useless, powerless. _How did that bastard do it? _This unnamed opponent had been three steps ahead of him the entire time. The phone in his pocket began to ring as, Beast Boy returned with the bandages. Robin stepped aside and answered.

*Your move, boy*

"Why haven't you killed us yet? You've had every opportunity."

*I don't want you dead, Robin. I want you broken.*


End file.
